Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa launched his campaign for governor of California this week to succeed current Governor Gavin Newsom, who cannot seek another term due to term limits.
Building on his record of results as a civil rights and labor leader, Speaker of the California State Assembly, and Mayor of Los Angeles, Villaraigosa touts his experience as a “proven problem solver who will focus on balancing the budget, make sure neighborhoods are safe and kids have great schools, and bring down costs so California is more affordable for families and seniors.”
Raised by a single mom in East Los Angeles, Villaraigosa experienced domestic violence as a young child and dropped out of high school. With the support of his mother and teachers, he re-enrolled in high school and took night classes to graduate, then attended community college and transferred to UCLA.
A labor and civil rights leader, Villaraigosa served as president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California, and spent years in the labor movement working for United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and as president of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), enforcing our civil rights laws at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission before running for the California State Assembly.
When Villaraigosa, a lifelong Democrat, entered his first term in the Legislature, Republicans controlled the State Assembly and Republican Pete Wilson was in the Governor’s office. In 1996, he helped Democrats take control of the Assembly, and rose in the ranks from Assembly Majority Leader to Speaker of the California Assembly.
During his time in the Legislature, Villaraigosa worked with Democrats and Republicans to balance the state budget, making record investments in public schools and colleges, while delivering a $13 billion budget surplus.
An education champion, Villaraigosa authored and passed Proposition 1A, the largest in California history, to repair and build new neighborhood schools throughout the state.
In the Assembly, Villaraigosa also led efforts to win higher wages for workers, including healthcare workers and teachers, environmental protections for our air and water, and created the Healthy Families Program that provided health coverage for over a million uninsured children.
Villaraigosa’s leadership on gun safety and years of standing up to the NRA was profiled by Sacramento Bee newspaper columnist Dan Morain, touting Villaraigosa’s trailblazing record passing stronger gun control measures in the Assembly, including California’s landmark assault weapons ban and “a far-reaching ban on the sale of cheap handguns, so-called Saturday night specials” that resulted in closing down several gun factories in California.
After serving in the Legislature, Villaraigosa was elected to the Los Angeles City Council then mayor of Los Angeles, becoming L.A.’s first Latino mayor since 1872.
As mayor, Villaraigosa helped turn around failing schools at LAUSD, increasing graduation rates by 60%.
He diversified city agencies, appointing African Americans to leadership positions, city commissioners, and department heads. Villaraigosa appointed the city’s first, second, and third African American fire chiefs, and launched the city’s minority-owned small business program, delivering $200 million in contracts to minority firms.
Villaraigosa was tapped by President Obama to serve as local, state, and national leader for Obama’s economic recovery plan, served on the President’s Transition Economic Advisory Board and led efforts for America Fast Forward, delivering billions in federal economic investment and hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs throughout the Los Angeles region.
During 2012 Presidential Election, Villaraigosa served as national co-chair for President Obama’s campaign and was asked by President Obama to serve as Chair of the Democratic National Convention in 2012 – which became known as one of the most successful in Democratic Party history.
The San Francisco Chronicle wrote that Antonio Villaraigosa “relished his role aggressively defending President Obama,” and that Villaraigosa was “nothing short of a political whirlwind for the Barack Obama campaign… the campaign’s tireless ‘go-to guy.’”
A leader in tackling climate change, Villaraigosa led historic efforts to make Los Angeles a global leader in reducing greenhouse gasses and carbon emissions, and he led the historic expansion of public transportation in Los Angeles, building more light rail than any other city in America.
As mayor, Villaraigosa reduced violent crime in Los Angeles by 48%, took 12,000 illegal guns off the street, spearheaded gang prevention and intervention programs that became a national model, and led critical reforms to crack down on racism and abuse in the LAPD – making Los Angeles one of the safest big cities in America.
Raphael J. Sonenshein, author of “Politics in Black and White: Race and Power in Los Angeles said Villaraigosa “really maintained the momentum of police reform, and that’s no easy thing.”
During his last year in office as Mayor, President Obama called Villaraigosa “one of the finest leaders we have in our country.”
Now running for governor, Villaraigosa said, “California needs a proven problem solver, that’s who I am and exactly what I’ll do as governor.
“I will bring a results-driven approach that’s focused on solutions – investing in what works while fixing what’s broken – so we can tackle inflation and bring down high costs of living in California, making sure everyone has access to good-paying jobs, affordable homes in safe neighborhoods, with quality schools for our kids.”
